THE U.S. Commerce Department yesterday imposed duties of more than 400 percent on steel imports from Vietnam, accusing some businesses in the Southeast Asian nation of evading the levies in a further escalation of tension between the two trading partners.

In three preliminary circumvention rulings on Vietnamese steel, the Commerce Department said certain products produced in South Korea and Taiwan were shipped to Vietnam for minor processing before being exported to the United States as corrosion-resistant steel products and cold-rolled steel.

U.S. customs officials have been ordered to collect cash deposits at rates as high as 456.23 percent on imports of the steel products produced in Vietnam using material from South Korea and Taiwan.

The United States is hardening its rhetoric against Vietnam, one of its major trading partners and an economy that’s benefiting from President Donald Trump’s trade war with China.

Trump described Vietnam last week as “almost the single-worst abuser of everybody” when asked if he wanted to impose tariffs on the nation.

Vietnam says it’s working to reduce its trade surplus with the United States.

Vietnam’s annual trade surplus with the United States has exceeded US$20 billion since 2014 and reached US$39.5 billion last year, the highest in records going back to 1990, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

(SD-Agencies)